Read Joshua 24:1-3a and 14-25
Joshua gathered
all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the
leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the
presence of God. 2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has to say:
‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the River Euphrates and
worshipped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham
and Nahor. 3Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land
beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan.
14 “Now
then,” Joshua continued, “honour the Lord
and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your
ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15If you are not
willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors
worshipped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are
now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The
people replied, “We would never leave the Lord
to serve other gods! 17The Lord
our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the
miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the
nations through which we passed. 18As we advanced into this land,
the Lord drove out all the
Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the Lord; he is our God.”
19 Joshua
said to the people, “But you may not be able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God and will not
forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, 20and if you leave
him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will
destroy you, even though he was good to you before.”
21 The
people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua
said to them, “You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to
serve the Lord.” “Yes,” they said,
“we are witnesses.”
23 “Then
get rid of those foreign gods that you have,” he demanded, “and pledge your
loyalty to the Lord, the God of
Israel.”
24 The
people then said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord
our God. We will obey his commands.”
25 So
Joshua made a covenant forq the people that day, and there at
Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow.
Think
Joshua invites the Israelites
to commit 100% to serving the LORD. He
warns them of the dangers of divided loyalty - he encourages them not to make a
promise they can't keep.
Boldly the people resolve to
serve the LORD. The generation that
makes this commitment does serve the LORD and things go well with them, but
soon they lose their passion.
Pray
Lord, I want to commit to
serving you 100%. Help me to offer more
of myself every day. Help me to show my
children and their children how to follow you.
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